The Rogue State will respect us if we are respectable

THE distance between the Panatag Shoal and Zambales is only like the length of Negros island. Definitely it is ours. No ifs or buts. What is a rogue state like China doing there?

North Korea is considered a rogue state by the nations of the Asean region, by African, European and the American countries. A state is considered a rogue state, regardless of its size and modernity, if it lacks the basic principles of decent, responsible qualities of a respectable state. It is a rogue state if its ways are purely banditry.

We have an example of a small country like Vietnam with the size of less than half of Luzon standing up to the rogue state. Vietnam says, “This part is ours. Don’t touch it!” and the bully rogue state stops in its tracks.

We might not have the record of Vietnam in standing up to the world’s most powerful country, which was spending more than $20 million a day to subdue it yet finally turned tail because of their staggering casualties. But a strong, dogged determination of defending what is clearly ours will also gain the respect of the bully rogue state.

The government attitude should be “The Panatag shoal is ours. Don’t come near it without our permission!” not a “sissified” attitude, whether the weather is good or bad. We had already shed too much Filipino blood from the revolution against Spain, against the Americans and against the Japanese in Bataan to be afraid that the Chinese will not eat our bananas. No part of this country will ever be exchanged for bananas!